White matter (WM) abnormalities in the right temporal lobe may be a marker of genetic risk for bipolar disorder (BD), according to a study published in Biological Psychiatry, aJournal of Psychiatric Neuroscience and Therapeutics on Jan. 15 (first published online Oct. 2). Researchers found that BD patients had significantly poorer WM integrity in the right temporal lobe than their unaffected siblings, who, in turn, had significantly poorer WM integrity in this brain region than mentally healthy individuals without a family history of the mood disorder. "It is conceivable that the attenuated nature of these WM abnormalities present in unaffected siblings allows for some preservation of adaptive emotional regulation, whereas more pronounced alterations observed in patients is related to the marked emotional dysregulation characteristic of BD," said Katie Mahon of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Dr. Katie Mahon, Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Learn more